


but tonight you belong to me

by broscarwilde



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, everyone smiles a lot, so nobody dies, the smiling is kind of a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:16:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15802887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broscarwilde/pseuds/broscarwilde
Summary: The Welton-Henley mixers happen twice a year; the first one, right before Christmas break, something to do with sending everyone off the right way and giving the students an opportunity to wind down after almost four months of hard work (well, hard work for some); the second one happens right after spring break so that everyone’s put in a good mood coming back to school and to get some last minute fun before the Lent starts. Of course, they’re still rather conservative, with teachers on the lookout for hands wandering too low or, God forbid, someone daring enough to try and perform a half-fledged (or full, it’s happened before, always quite the scandal) make-out session in the middle of the gymnasium.





	but tonight you belong to me

**Author's Note:**

> A one (1) dance scene in Sabrina (1954) made me do this. If you wanna put yourself in the mood and listen to the songs I reference in here, I recommend the playlist "1950s love songs" by alpenlight on Spotify, which has both "Love Letters" by Nat King Cole and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by Doris Day on it.

The Welton-Henley mixers happen twice a year; the first one, right before Christmas break, something to do with sending everyone off the right way and giving the students an opportunity to wind down after almost four months of hard work (well, hard work for _some_ ); the second one happens right after spring break so that everyone’s put in a good mood coming back to school and to get some last minute fun before the Lent starts. Of course, they’re still rather conservative, with teachers on the lookout for hands wandering too low or, _God forbid_ , someone daring enough to try and perform a half-fledged (or _full_ , it’s happened before, always quite the scandal) make-out session in the middle of the gymnasium.

The Spring Mixer is always hosted at Welton therefore it’s dull when it comes to the cosmetics of it all – Nolan never really bothers with devoting a fund for decorations (though there was a red and blue banner last year, which looked like a repurposed 4th of July tablecloth); there’s _some_ food, snacks to be nibbled on and the punch that someone almost always tries to spike with their father’s stolen scotch (Charlie’s done that twice already, _third time’s a charm_ ), there’s speakers that play the music from the radio or the twenty year old vinyl collection from the headmaster’s office that’s really mostly just jazz that makes you want to doze off. There was a talk of hosting a band once but in the end the school deemed it too excessive; the school band was also under debate and with enthusiasm from a few members but again, the headmaster concluded that the _kind_ of music that’s to be played at a dance is something out of line for a school band as _honorable_ as Welton’s. Charlie’s volunteered himself as a musical act once as well but the idea got shut down faster than you can say _Captain_.

This year, though, there’s a banner _and_ balloons and the boys are positively surprised (it’s probably _dumb_ to be getting _excited_ about balloons but there’s not a lot of excitable things around here). Surely, the red colored punch is right there in the middle of the table and Charlie eyes it the second he and the rest of the Poets walk through the wide-open doors of the gym hall. Meeks knows _that look_ very well – he always tries to tell Charlie off, even though it’s mostly for fun and to tease since he doesn’t give a rat’s ass whether there’s booze in the drinks or not; it’s usually more fun if there is so he never bothers to actually stop Charlie from doing anything to the refreshments.

“Wait a minute, boys – is that the Everly Brothers I can hear? Did Nolan finally give up on the _1910s hits_?” Charlie says as he starts humming with the music, the word to _Bye Bye Love_ leaving his mouth as he fixes the collar of his shirt, “maybe there’s hope for some Elvis. Or does Nolan still think he’s the devil?”

“Oh, he still does. But maybe we’re in for a treat,” Neil pipes in as he looks around the room – there’s a couple of familiar faces in the crowd, mostly just girls he knows from the play – or _only_ , since he doesn’t really know that many girls from Henley. Charlie does and Knox, too, which usually makes them the middle men when Charlie figures it’s time to find every single one of his friends a dance partner.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Pitts adds as he stumbles in behind Meeks, towering over everyone; he decides to take a look at the music station and who’s behind it – he’s surprised that it’s not the bald head of the headmaster he can spot but the warm face of Mr. Keating – that explains _a lot_. “Guys, look!” he calls for the attention of his friends and points in the direction of their teacher.

“Nice!” Knox smiles wide before sticking two fingers in his mouth to whistle loudly which makes Keating lift his head and wave at them from across the room. All the boys wave back at him, making their way further inside, Charlie steering them to the food table. Cameron digs into the food as soon as they’re close enough while the rest of them just stand around.

“Hey, where’s Todd?” Knox asks, mostly Neil since he’s probably the one that knows the answer to this particular question – he’s missed the pre-dance hangout with the boys because of his parents wanting him over for dinner; it had been dragging on for so long that he almost had to beg his father to finally wrap it up and drive him back so he can make it in time; and since he’s missed the get together, he must’ve missed the information on one of his friends.

“Oh, some family emergency with his brother, apparently. Nothing serious but he wouldn’t tell, you know how he is,” Neil shrugs; he’s tried getting it out of Todd but the other boy either has a mind of steel that doesn’t budge or he didn’t know what the emergency was himself, “he called earlier, said he should only be late an hour.”

“I’m wondering if he’s doing that on purpose, you know? He hates these things and he always tries to find an excuse and he finally has one. Should we bet on when he shows up?” Charlie speaks from behind the food table; he looks like he’s trying to grow a hundred eyes all around his head, like Argus, so he can know when he’s in the danger zone concerning the punch – there’s a Henley professor guarding it like Cerberus, though, steel blue eyes peering from behind the black cat-eye glasses. He has to use a lot of his will-power to stop himself from making an obscene face at the woman to rile her up or piss her off enough to just… _leave_. But then he’d probably get in trouble. And Meeks would absolutely hate him for it since Charlie’s promised that he’s going to behave himself during the dance – save for the Operation Punch (which, _really_ , could mean two things – one, what he’s planned, alcohol in the drinks or two, starting an actual fight – you know, _punch_ ).

“No bets, Charlie,” Neil says as he reaches out for a sandwich; he stares at his friend until the other boy groans and nods in agreement.

“Alright, so who’s stepping up to ask Keating for Elvis? Pittsie, you’re his guy lately, you go.”

* * *

 

The car drives off and Todd heads inside; it’s warm enough of a night that his jacket’s unbuttoned and the scarf he’s took with himself in the morning is now bundled up in his hand. The halls are empty and Todd almost forgets that the dance is happening; the faint music coming from the left wing reminds him otherwise and he’s almost tempted to smile at the thought of all of his friends dancing around in the gym, with smiles spread wide across their faces, looking like they’re having the time of their lives (they _always_ look like that at those dances, all smiles and joy, letting themselves forget what kind of an awful hellhole Welton is and what kind of torture they’re going to have to deal with come Monday – save the English class, which is _never_ torture, to any of them). For a second, he wonders whether he should just head to his room and stay there for another hour or two – he’s got an excuse to not be at the dance and he could just stay back, catch up on that history chapter that he’s decided to ditch over the break because he just couldn’t get himself to read it. But then he thinks about the rest of the guys and Neil and how he wants to see them, to see _him,_ so he takes a turn and heads for the gym hall instead of the stairs.

The music is the first thing that surprises him because it’s _different_ ; it sound clear, like the vinyls are new and the songs itself are no older that five years (while the usual _hits_ tend to be at least fifteen years old, if not more). And then there’s the _balloons_ which are an unexpected sight – a clashing one as well because the colors are odd; Todd would understand if they were in school colors but they’re not. But then again, there’s _balloons_. It’s the first time at the mixer that any of them can say something like that. He stays close to the walls, finding an empty chair he can put his coat and the scarf on, both neatly hung over the back of it before he starts scanning the room for his friends. The song has changed about ten seconds after he walked in, the words to _Dream a Little Dream of Me_ streaming softly through the speakers in the corners. A song like that calls for a slow dance so the boys couple up with the girls and the rest of people are clearing the middle of the room, heading for the food or the bathrooms.

It’s a habit, almost a reflex, that Todd’s eyes always search for Neil when there’s a crowd to comb through; Neil, who’s always there for him when there’s too much people around, when the crowds get too unbearable. And even now, despite being a couple feet away from him, without even knowing yet that Todd’s in the room, the boy feels a wave of relief go through him as he spots the familiar face belonging to his best friend. Neil has his arms around Ginny Danburry, there’s a faint smile on his face but he doesn’t look particularly interested – it’s probably because the match was made by Charlie, who is nowhere to be seen, Todd realizes when he lets his eyes wander away from his roommate for a brief moment. Neil’s passive expression changes into the brightest grin the second he notices Todd staring from across the room; he’s tempted to just break the dance and join him but he’s too nice to do something as rude as this. It doesn’t really seem like Todd’s about to run away either, so he can make it until the songs ends.

When it does, Neil turns to Ginny with a smile, thanks her and excuses himself, jogging over to Todd; his face is flushed and Todd figures he must’ve been dancing for a while now; still, he’s _beaming_ , the corners of his eyes crinkling as his mouth stretches into a bright grin.

“Charlie wanted to hold bets about when you’re gonna show up,” he tells Todd as he looks behind him to see if the boy in question is anywhere to be found – he’s not so Neil turns back to his best friend. “We didn’t but I’d won, I knew you were gonna keep your word,” he slightly nudges Todd’s shoulder with his fist. Todd smiles at him in return. “So, what was that thing with your brother? Can you tell me now?”

“I didn’t tell you before because I really didn’t know,” he tells Neil; he really didn’t – when Jeff called him, he made it sound like the world’s biggest mystery and Todd didn’t have much to go on. He didn’t know what it was about until his brother drove them to the planned destination. “Turns out he’s–uh… _proposing_ to his girlfriend tonight and he wanted help in setting the whole thing up,” he explains. Neil’s brows go up because something like this wouldn’t even cross his mind if he were to give a guess as to what Jeff needed help with. “We’ve got this lake house about two hours from here and he wanted to make it look all nice and… _romantic_. Lots of roses involved,” he chuckles faintly as he lifts up his hands, palms up to show Neil the shallow rose-thorn scratches on his skin. “He said he’s going to make it up to me but I don’t really see it.”

“Damn,” Neil sighs; he reaches out and holds Todd’s hands in his own for a moment, thumbs running over the skin on his palms before their hands drop – he’s not sure which pair fell first. “It’s still a much more fun day you’ve had. I was stuck doing algebra with Charlie and Meeks because we decided to ignore it during the break. Not Meeks, of course, he was there to help,” he tells Todd. There’s long pause that’s threatening to turn awkward any second now but Neil is determined to prevent it. “Come on, you have to dance at least once,” he nods at the crowd moving to the music, smiling.

* * *

 

It’s getting late and the school is almost empty; the very last song plays faintly in the background of everyone grabbing their things and heading either out or to their rooms; when Charlie and Meeks leave the gym, the hall is empty. Meeks walks slowly, wiping his glasses with the edge of his shirt as Charlie follows him singing _Love letters_ lazily.

“ _The sky may be starless_ ,” he hums the melody as he stumbles behind his friend; Meeks is tempted to say that Charlie’s drunk but then again, over the course of the dance, he hasn’t seen him actually spike the punch. If the Operation Punch failed then Charlie might’ve just downed the scotch from the flask himself – a very probable option. “ _The night may be moonless_ ,” Charlie goes on and Meeks can’t help himself but smile – drunk or not, it’s just _plain funny_. He catches up to Meeks and moves to face him, walking backwards and he continues to sings the song, “ _But deep in my heart, I know–”_ Charlie has to pause when he stumbles over his own feet (the backwards thing is not really working out for him but he’s _determined_ ) _._ When he straightens himself up, he throws his arms to the side and smiles wide at Meeks, “ _I know that you love me, you love me, because you told me so,_ ” Charlie drags out the last word as he reaches forward and grabs Meeks’ hands; he yelps in surprise but then laughs as Charlie twirls him around.

“You’re drunk, Dalton,” he chuckles; Charlie doesn’t let go of his hands, instead holds it firmly, dragging him down the hall – it’s not even the route to the dormitories, Meeks has no idea why Charlie’s taking them this way.

“Clean as a whistle, darling,” Charlie says, a little too loud, “you can check the flask,” he adds and pats the left side of his jacket, where the booze must be in the inside pocket. There’s a sly smile on his lips as he tugs Meeks into himself and spins them around.

“Well, thank you for the _serenade_ but we should probably go to our rooms now. Hager’s gonna bust us if we don’t,” Meeks tells his friend as he steadies himself, putting his hands on Charlie’s shoulders, “not to mention, six o’clock Mass,” he adds; he finds himself swallowing hard and growing a bit red in the cheeks because of the way Charlie’s staring at him – with intent, steadily, like there’s nobody else in the world but Meeks. It makes him feel a little self-conscious even though it’s Charlie and there’s really nothing to be worried about with him. He still does but he can’t figure out why the stare bothers him so much.

“Gotta do one more thing.” The sly smile is still there as Charlie looks around, as if he’s making sure that there’s nobody else around, before he pushes Meeks against the wall under the staircase. Meeks’ back hits the wooden paneling with a soft _thud_ and he panics for a second, like anyone probably would, given the situation. Charlie stares at him the same way he did before but this time Meeks stares back, fighting the embarrassment of keeping up the eye contact. Charlie has his palms pressed flat against Meeks’ chest while he’s got his hands pressed against the wall behind him.

He’s not that surprised when Charlie leans in and kisses him; he misses Meeks’ mouth ever so slightly so it mostly catches the left corner of his lips but it’s still _there_ ; it definitely _counts_. The spell lasts for a couple of long moments before Charlie pulls away, that _damn smile_ on his face again, as if it never left. He steps away from Meeks but holds out a hand which Meeks accepts, not that surprised but still _stunned_ so he’s a little slow with the response; Charlie pulls him away from the wall. They hold hands for a bit longer, Charlie even swinging them a little, before their hold drops and they start walking.

“Now we _do_ need to get back or Cameron will lock me out again,” Charlie says as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants; there’s another smile on his face, a different one, a _satisfied_ one.

“Maybe he should. You could sleep in my room then,” Meeks says in return, he mirrors Charlie’s smile to fake some confidence in hopes of hiding the giddiness that’s bubbling up inside him.

“Steven Meeks, how _scandalous_. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Charlie exclaims; there’s a hint of a British accent in there, for some reason, which makes both of them burst out laughing as they climb the stairs.

* * *

 

When Todd comes back to the room from a late night call from his brother, Neil is by his desk, scribbling away in his Math book; his head snaps to the side the second he hears the door click and there’s a warm smile spreading across his features when Todd emerges from behind it.

“Well, she said yes,” Todd shrugs, sporting a faint smile of his own; it feels funny to say it because it almost sounds as if _he_ was the one proposing. Jeff has called him first which makes Todd feel special – not only did he help, he’s the first one to hear about the answer, even before their parents.

“That’s fantastic,” Neil replies with the enthusiasm fit for Jeff’s girlfriend herself; he always makes sure to be really excited for everything and then a little bit more so he can make up for Todd’s reluctant character. They really do know how to complement each other and it shows. “Do you know her at all? Is she nice?” Neil asks, eager for the answer – it gives him a chance for another glimpse into Todd’s life and he’ll take that any day.

“I met her last Christmas but we didn’t really talk that much because it was the family dinner and– _you know_ ,” Todd trails off; family dinners mean that he’s quiet in the background and that it’s Jeff’s time to shine, especially _that_ dinner, with his brother’s girlfriend being introduced to the family. “I met her again two weeks ago, the three of us had lunch. Her name’s Sophie, she’s in nursing school. She’s really nice,” he explains; he smiles at the memory of that day because when talking to him, she really seemed interested in everything that he had so say, even if it wasn’t all that much – and he’s not really used to that outside of his friends.

“That’s really great. I’m glad,” Neil tells the other boy as he closes his book and stands up from his desk. He stretches his arms out and yawns as he eyes his bed. “I’m wiped. I think Charlie made me dance with half of Henley,” he chuckles; he looks as the other and sees Todd opening the wardrobe; he hides behind its door which makes Neil look away – while he usually doesn’t mind changing in front of his roommate, he knows that Todd feels uncomfortable doing that out in the open. It doesn’t stop the conversation, though.

“Yeah, you were dancing with Ginny when I came in,” Todd calls out as he puts on his pajama bottoms, jumping a little to pull them on properly.

“You should’ve danced with her, too, she’s funny,” Neil says as he takes off the cover off his bed and fluffs up his pillow with a couple of punches.

“I wouldn’t know how,” Todd replies, closing the dresser while he slides his arm through the shirt sleeve. He ruffles his hair and brushes it back with his fingers as he stumbles over his words, “I mean, I never really– danced like that with anyone,” Todd shrugs, his eyes focused on the ripped edge of his duvet.

“What? Never?” Neil asks, actually surprised but then he starts thinking back to all the previous dances they’ve all been to and he can’t, for the life of him, bring back a picture of Todd dancing a slow one with a girl – because it never happened. “Hmm,” he hums as he looks at Todd, his head tilting to one side and eyes squinting ever so slightly. The idea comes to him almost instantly and Neil feels very proud of it. “Come on,” he says with a bright smile as he reaches out with his open hand, offering it to Todd.

“What?” Todd says in return, sounding as surprised as Neil did just a moment ago; he knows very well what Neil is doing but it seems odd, almost _silly_ to Todd – at least at first. Then his imagination starts working and the idea doesn’t seem that bad all of a sudden. He’s still trying to get out of it, though, he wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t. “But there’s no music,” he points out, awkwardly scratching the back of his head; he tilts it forward a bit to hide the blood rushing to his cheeks even though he feels like it can’t escape his roommate.

“I can sing, even if very off-key. Or hum. Come on, Todd,” Neil grins even wider and brighter as he takes a step forward, shaking his hand, trying to convince Todd to take it. And after another long moment of hesitation, he does.

Neil pulls Todd towards himself with a satisfied smile on his face; Todd stumbles over his feet a little but the other boy makes sure that he doesn’t fall. Neil puts one of Todd’s hands on his shoulder while he takes hold of the other, their arms bent at the elbow. He rests his other hand on Todd’s waist and while the other squirms under the touch at first, he soon relaxes into it.

“ _Stars shining bright above you_ ,” Neils sings, as promised, but it’s definitely not off-key; it’s quiet but it’s clear and sounds absolutely lovely – it makes Todd love Neil’s voice even more than he already does. The other boy gives up on the rest of the words, though – instead he hums the melody, as softly as his voice has been just now. Todd can’t help the relaxed smile make its way onto his face and Neil notices it, mirroring it, clearly happy with himself.

A dance like this, the two of them in their tiny Welton dorm room – it seems silly, almost comical and laughable but neither of them would have it any other way. Neil feels like his heart is about to jump out of his chest when Todd’s head falls forward to rest on his shoulder – the grin of his face stretches out even more, despite being practically impossible, to the point where his cheeks start to hurt from the strain, but it doesn’t matter; not when Todd’s in his arms, the two of them swaying from side to side to the faint hum of Neil’s voice. They’re pressed closely against each other and Neil has his nose buried in Todd’s hair – it tickles horribly but it also feels weirdly comfortable and _familiar_. He can feel a heavy sigh leaving Todd’s body, the other boy relaxing even more into the embrace.

At some point they stop moving and they just stand there, in the middle of the room, holding onto each other. Todd pulls away first, reluctantly peeling his arms away from Neil’s body. As soon as there’s distance between them, he starts feeling a little awkward so he looks down, feeling his cheeks growing a bit hot.

“Thank you,” he mutters as he lifts his head just a little, enough to look at the other boy. Neil is smiling back at him, just like he always does.

“You’re welcome,” he replies, his grin turning a little smug (he’s picked this one up from Charlie, no doubt). He reaches out and touches Todd’s shoulder gently – he gives it a little squeeze before his arm drops to his side again. “Goodnight?” Neil says with a soft shrug – it seems like a good time to end the evening and Todd does look like he’s had enough of excitement for the night and needs to hide his face away and rest.

“Yeah, goodnight,” Todd says as he lifts his head and looks at Neil, giving the other boy his brightest smile yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the thing I wrote to procrastinate writing my dissertation.


End file.
